Navigating the Northwest Passage in the Sea King. An ekranoplan--which runs just as well over sea ice as over open water--is perfectly suited to Arctic operations. An added bonus is that the depth of the water isn't an issue, so it can negotiate waterways much too shallow for an ordinary ship.

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I'm spending the night at Resolute Bay, just a few miles south of the 75ºN limit of X-Plane's global scenery. (Although I can go as far north as 80º with old ENV files available online.) Tomorrow I'll be heading for Alaska.

TH

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Just landed in Barrow, Alaska, completing the passage. In reality, the whole area which I crossed is currently covered with sea ice: http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere ... shade.html However, being an ekranoplan, the Sea King is just as capable of flying over sea ice as over open water, although the occasional "hop" over rough areas might be necessary. It isn't clear if the ice is thick enough to land a craft the size of the Sea King on it (I would guess not), so I limited myself to landings on actual land, making stops at Sept Ilês, Quebec; Cartwright, Labrador; Hall Beach, Nunavut; Resolute Bay, Nunavut; and Barrow, Alaska.

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Whoever invented thrust reversers should win a Nobel prize.

TH

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